Chord question

[WookieeForLife]

Is it true that major chords are the first,third and fifth of a key? And minor is first, third flat, and fith?

[David1234]

Yes.

Another slightly different way to put it is that a major triad (a nice name for this kind of chord) is 1, 3, 5 from a major scale, and that a minor triad is 1, 3, 5 from a minor scale.

[WookieeForLife]

Cool. So A major would be A, C#, and E, while I can play A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G# and still be in the key of A?

[Rudreax]

On a basic level, you could. You can generally play any note in any key; you just need to remember to put emphasis on key tones, and particular chord tones (A, C#, and E in A major).

[WookieeForLife]

Cool. Thanks. You just saved me money from buying a book to learn Major and Minor Chords.

[MalcolmAmos]

http://www.smithfowler.org/music/Chord_Formulas.htm

[Michael Campbel]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Cool. Thanks. You just saved me money from buying a book to learn Major and Minor Chords.

Not much money then, if that's all a book gets you through. There's a lot more to chords and chord theory than just that!

[WookieeForLife]

I know, but I'm just getting the basics down for now.

[Mr. Mig]

You can also put the Octave in on a major chord. Which is the note under the 5th. So you can go root, third, fifth, and octave if you like.

[Mazatleco17]

Bass for dummies is a really good reference book, it explains basic scale, chords etc etc without being overwhelming.

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Is it true that major chords are the first,third and fifth of a key? And minor is first, third flat, and fith?

basically, yes.

but your wording could lead to confusion. I'd replace "key" with "scale" for the sake of clarity, because "key" is a broader term that includes not only the individual scale tones but also the chordal/harmonic aspects of a scale.

when someone says to me "the first, third and fifth of a key" I would think the mean the chords built on the first, third and fifth (I, iii, V) but I don't think that's what you mean.

[bassybill]

A useful (if rather basic) hint to remember when you're just starting out practising playing lines from a chord symbol chart is that a major pentatonic scale (C, D, E, G, A, C for example) will sound okay over just about any major chord (with a C root, obviously). Likewise a minor pentatonic (such as A, C, D, E, G, A) will suit almost any minor chord with the root A. Learn those scales and move 'em around as necessary.

Start from there, and then try adding in other tones (7, 9 et cetera - and "passing tones" used to link from one chord note to another) using the chord symbols as a guide as you go along.

[HaVIC5]

Originally Posted by David1234

Yes.

Another slightly different way to put it is that a major triad (a nice name for this kind of chord) is 1, 3, 5 from a major scale, and that a minor triad is 1, 3, 5 from a minor scale.

That's one way to put it, but it will be confusing in the long run if you're comparing minor chords to minor scales and major chords to major scales. Everything in Western music and music theory is set up to be compared with the major scale. When you describe the "flat 13" of a chord, you are talking about the 13 (6 displaced up an octave) from the corresponding major scale that has been lowered one half step.

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Is it true that major chords are the first,third and fifth of a key? And minor is first, third flat, and fith?

While it is true that scale degrees 1, 3, and 5 spell a major chord in a major key, and also a minor chord in a minor key, that does not answer your implicit question, which I take to be "Where are the major chords of a key?"

Major chords are found on scale degrees 1, 4 and 5 of major keys, and 3, 6, and 7 of minor. Each obviously have root, 3rd and 5th.